I had a very limited first ride yesterday, only 1/2 hour or so.
It was sort of an impulse buy... a dealership out of town is owned by a Suzuki nut (lucky for him he owns a Suzuki store) and he came down to buy my '85 Katana 750 pop-up for his collection. Before he did, we were talking about the 2020 Katana and he said that he had a demo that he could bring down with him if I wanted to try it. Freaking pushers feeding off of the vulnerable! True to his word, not five minutes after I got home from work, he rolled up with this spaceship in the back of his truck. It was the first time I'd seen one in person and I have to say, I was blown away. I liked it in pictures but it's really something else in the metal.
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Even at two grand off of MSRP being a demo (lightly used demo, just 260kms on the odometer), it was still pretty spendy so my visions of new Kat ownership were starting to slip away... until he took a look around my garage and threw healthy trade-in values on my 2015 GSX-S750 and 2017 VanVan200... long story short, three old bikes left and one new one stayed.
It was almost dark by the time we wrapped up the sale in my driveway but I did get out for the aforementioned half hour before the sun disappeared completely.
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Quick ride review: Suzuki has completely fixed the terrible fuelling of the GSX-S1000 that the Katana is based on. They said that they had, the reviewers said that they had but I needed to know for myself. Thing feels great throughout the throttle range. Win. It's incredibly comfortable. The seat is higher than the donor GSX-S, as are the bars, and it puts you in a really comfortable position (or at least it did me at 6'1", YMMV). The seat is firm but thickly padded, wide under your butt but narrow between your legs. Pegs aren't too high either which helps my trashed knees. The steering is heavier than my GSX-S750 but I think that's mostly due to the 190/50 rear tire that just doesn't want to turn as easily as the 750's 180/55. I'm going to do some research and see if going up to a 190/55 tire on the Katana would be ok, or if it would throw the traction control and ABS into hysterics. The 55 worked beauty on both of my TL-Rs and three 'Busas so I know it would improve the steering on the Kat if I can get away with it.
As for power, I have a break-in period to adhere to before I can find out. It's rated at 148hp and dynos are consistently around 135-138 at the rear tire so I'm sure it's got some jam. That's 40hp more than the 750 version and the 1000/Katana is lighter than that bike thanks to the aluminum frame and swingarm (my generation GSX-S750 was all steel, new ones have an aluminum swingarm) so I have high hopes it'll entertain me. If it's a slug, I still have my Gen1 'Busa so....
That's all I can say for the moment. Need to start shopping for accessories now... I see that Suzuki offers a taller windscreen that mimics the '82 Katana style, and heated grips that integrate into the bike, and a cool seat with red accents and an embossed Katana kanji... Merry Christmas to me this year!
You how they say it's really not that hot in like Nevada or Arizona that it's a "dry heat." Well here on the west coast it is a "wet cold." The kind of cold that goes right thru you and deep into yer bones.
www.usedvictoria.com
have a look at my fore arms next video
